


Give and Take

by Shitgetapen



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Modern AU, an excuse to have ladies in fancy clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 10:18:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shitgetapen/pseuds/Shitgetapen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eponine never liked these big charity galas, she liked being invited by Marius, but actually being there she felt less like a date than a show piece. ‘Look! Look a real life piece of poverty!’ she could feel their eyes saying as she walked.</p><p>Apart from one and Eponine felt an unfair stab of jealousy, she had to remind herself that this girl couldn’t help being rich and she seemed a hell of a lot nicer than the rest of them, yet in her apparently cheaper dress with her make up quickly done by another one of Marius’ acquaintances (who honestly did her best to look like she was happy to do it despite her back handed comments the entire time), Eponine couldn’t help but still feeling slightly inadequate and the jarring thought ‘this is the sort of girl Marius would love’ wouldn’t leave her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Give and Take

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TikTak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TikTak/gifts).



> Okay this is more of an introduction to the next part and it was originally a part of one big piece but it was starting to get very text heavy, and since i'm going to be busy working for a while i wanted to get something out before i forget this. So i hope you enjoy this anyway, and hopefully it wont actually be TOO long till i have the next part.

Eponine never liked these big charity galas, she liked being invited by Marius, but actually being there she felt less like a date than a show piece. ‘Look! Look a real life piece of poverty!’ she could feel their eyes saying as she walked around the groups on Marius’ arm. Instead of feeling weighed down by the watchful glances, she walked straight backed with a fake smile that could rival the rest of them, she bit back sharp comments only letting her real opinions come out sugar coated instead of with her real venom (she realised they found the truth easier to swallow that way and usually didn’t get threatened to get thrown out for rude behaviour). Now she was on her third one she had now trained in their etiquette.

But when she watched Marius disappear for some more drinks (and god she needed another drink, even when whatever was in that punch bowl was weak as piss), she couldn’t help felling a bit lost. She was glad he cared enough to invite her, but sometimes she over thought the invitation maybe he did bring her only as a showpiece, maybe she’s his only proof of him ‘slumming it’, maybe she’s only here to piss off his family. These however are dismissed with a smile because one of the best things about Marius is he always means what he says with such earnest that he doesn’t think about any sort of double meaning, in some cases this made him look simple and many time Eponine has had to cover his mouth and smuggle him out of rooms for his own good. She watched his back finally slip between two over fed women who would do better giving some of food to the hungry instead of their money to a cooperation who of course needs to take a large chunk for administration (Eponine knew how to cheat the money system just as well as they did so wasn’t fooled by all the jargon they spouted every time someone pointed it out, and tended to show this by throwing things and doing a lot shouting to say so). With him finally out of sight and with her far away from a wall to disappear against, she could only shift nervously from foot to foot, pretending to still be sipping what was still in her cup.

It was in such a state that she was accosted by one of the large ladies she saw across the floor, she was more repulsive up close her clothes and make-up were gaudy and expensive, both were in clashing shades of fuchsia and lime, though the worst thing she was wearing was the patronising smile she must practise in front of the mirror before every hospital visit. Eponine clamped her mouth shut in a tight smile and tried not to fuss with own dress.

Marius had bought her the dress despite her protests she could manage herself, (she wouldn’t eat well for a good few months afterwards but she’d manage as she’s always done). Again it was a mix of flattery and shame that she accepted the gift, it was beautiful sapphire-blue satin that draped from one shoulder down to her feet like a waterfall, it was probably the most gorgeous thing she has ever worn and made her naively feel like one of these other rich girls she saw here, maybe then Marius would stop inviting her as a friend, maybe if she had grown up to be the girl her parents had originally planned her to be, she would be running her own crooked charity ball with Marius on her arm like a trophy of how far shed come. But every moment she wore it she couldn’t help think how much food she could give to her family by selling this dress, or how Marius must see it as a chore to go about picking a dress (really he got an old friend of his to buy it for him but who’s Eponine to know?). And so she adjusted and readjusted the shoulder so it didn’t seem to be laced with poison (a servant should never wear a queens dress).

“What a delightful gown!” The woman proclaimed as if to the whole room, she added a silent ‘for a poor girl’ with her that over lipsticked fat she called a mouth.

“Oh really? Thank you.” Eponine smiled through her still gritted teeth, the woman seemed to wait for a beat for a compliment back or some sort of praise for her unbelievable kindness in reaching out to the poor. Her jowls fell a touch when she received neither.

“I mean it’s not one of the more expensive but I’m glad you could find something wearable.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’m sure when I was in London, maybe last year was it? Don’t go it’s a terrible place, dirty and rude and just don’t appreciate some people’s opinions, you know?”

“Hmmmm.”

“Anyway! I’m sure I saw something on the rails like that, so I’m not sure if it was rejected for the catwalk or if it was just too out of season but I never saw it on stage. I dunno it’s charming, it suits you.”

“That’s interesting.” Eponine didn’t know how to react honestly, her bland comments seemed to appease the woman as perhaps they held the average amount of personality of those in the room. Really Eponine’s hand was clenched tightly around her old cup so tightly the worry it would smash came briefly into her mind.

The woman carried on apparently enjoying her charity work too much to leave, she had started to go on about how glad it was to see her here and what a lovely waist she has when Eponine thought she might snap. But just as her knuckles began to ache and a biting comment was on her practically jumping off her tongue (it was a great comment asking if she had tried starving for her new diet because you know it doesn’t work for everyone, but when you’re close to passing out on the job because you need to help your family it helps to concentrate on how great you’re gonna look in that new dress), when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was too light to be Marius, it was barely there at all in fact only hovering on her shoulder for the effect of contact.

“Charming as always Mrs Williamson, but I’ve been looking for our guest everywhere and I think Mr Williamson needs some accompaniment by now.”

“Oh what a star, you’re right. Now you look after our guest she’s probably feeling a bit lost in all this.” With that the now named Mrs Williamson bustled off to find her aforementioned husband, who she probably ran away to gossip from as soon as possible after they arrived together. The hand on her shoulder was quickly removed as soon as her back was turned, Eponine guessed it was the same hand that gently lifted the glass out her hand but she was still blind with rage to pay much attention to anything.

“It’s Eponine isn’t it?”

“Hm?” Eponine stood blinking for a moment to see who exactly was speaking now, it was girl about her age, Eponine tried to hide her surprise because usually her and Marius with the two weird twins had to make a sort of club for people their age because the people older were old enough to be their parents and could be alright if they weren’t so pompous about it, and any younger were the bratty younger children. She was just surprised she hadn’t seen this girl around before, her face was classically angelic with very little make up apart from bright red lipstick, Eponine found herself commenting that her lips shone like fresh cherries, her dress was mostly white but was embellished with jewels and embroidered in sections to make what looked like little red daisies all across the dress which only further brought out her lips, every part of the dress was exquisitely detailed.

Eponine felt an unfair stab of jealousy, she reminded herself this girl couldn’t help being rich and she seemed a hell of a lot nicer than the rest of them, yet in her apparently cheaper dress with her make up quickly done by another one of Marius’ acquaintances (who honestly did her best to look like she was happy to do it despite her back handed comments the entire time), Eponine couldn’t help but still feeling slightly inadequate and the jarring thought ‘ _this is the sort of girl Marius would love_ ’ wouldn’t leave her.

Eponine’s pause only lasted a second or two before she quickly snapped her evaluation/wallowing short, “Oh yeah, it’s Eponine Thenardier, and you’re apparently-?”

She laughed, it was a beautiful lilting thing, not tuned enough for bird song more like a wind chime stuck in a hurricane, it took Eponine back a bit so she immediately brought her hands up to cross them over her chest. “No, no don’t worry it’s just, well my father and I were one of the main contributors for this. So I just assumed- oh never mind. Fauchelevant! My name is Cosette Fauchelevant.”  

With that Eponine suddenly recognised her, and despite begrudgingly begin to like this girl she felt a surge of venom race through her. It had been months ago now at a similar event when Marius had been the one to notice her, they had held eyes for seconds and he looked at her in a way that made Eponine ache because in all their time together not once had his tenderness extended to his eyes in that way. The name Cosette bubbled from his lips from that point on, though he was not so oblivious because he learnt to stop when he saw the subject made Eponine touchy he relegated it to it being a ‘girl thing’. And Eponine had apparently learnt to forget it in place of a cheerier reality, that the name dropping stopped because they were no longer in contact, but now in this moment she felt so very very wrong. This was indeed the kind of girl Marius loved.

The sound of Cosette’s laugh cut through her melancholy, she supposed she was nice enough and she should respect Marius choices but it still stung. Her laugh was loud and free, granting her stares from those around them, but she paid no heed and Eponine respected that and even found her mouth beginning to turn into a polite smile. After a deep breath Cosette carried on its so gret to meet you, I heard a lot about you from Marius,” she blurted out grinning (genuinely) and Eponine tried not to show her smile dipping at the corners, Cosette picked up on it and quickly cleared her throat and took it in a different direction, “though you seem to be making a name for yourself already. I’ve heard a buzz around you, though I’ve had to sternly correct a lot of their terminology. And don’t pay attention to that hag, she only comes for the finger food and a gossip. You look stunning.”

When Cosette spoke it was in a rather long excited fashion, like she was worried that Eponine might wander off any minute so had to get everything out, and though Eponine was tempted she couldn’t seem to find any excuses nor did she entirely want to. Her voice was like a piece of music where all the instruments are all playing their own song but doesn’t sound too bad and the piece is happy and all the notes find them self skipping from the instrument, it’s just it sounded slightly muddled and almost overwhelmingly cheery.

“Thank you.” Eponine smiled and she wasn’t sure if she was commenting on the change of conversation, the hinting she berated some of the idiots, or because of her authentic sounding complement. But she was thankful. “Do I want to know what’s being said about me?”

“Well not unless you want to hear, for the hundredth time I’m sure, what a brave soul you are.”

“They can shove that up their arse.”

Cosette laughed again, “Nobody seems to say how eloquent you are, well they do but they add that silent ‘for a commoner’,” she put on a haughty voice for the phrase ‘ _for a commoner_ ’. Making Eponine snort (which even surprised herself) and all Cosette could do was keep on grinning.

“Are you waiting for Marius?” Eponine couldn’t help but ask, every fibre of her being was going into looking nonchalant and not biting her lip.

“No no no.”Her smile was coy and a blush was just beginning to creep up her neck, and that thought bit into Eponine again ‘I bet they already like each other’. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was looking for you, I have to say I’ve heard so much about you I wanted to see what you’re really like and...” Cosette took a deep breath and the blush continued to creep up her neck, Eponine braced herself to be asked Marius’ opinion on her or if she’ll ask Marius out on her behalf, giving in Eponine bit her lip. Hard. “I have to say I might like you more then I should from just stories.”

Eponine however was not prepared for that. She must have looked like a deer in the headlights, all wide eyes

There was only a beat until she replied. “I need a drink.”

**Author's Note:**

> the next part actual shippy things happen i promise!


End file.
